Theo Croker – Miles Davis Mixtape [Pete Woodhead]

THEO CROCKER’S ‘Miles Davis Mixtape’
Southbank Centre x Montreux Jazz Festival Residency
Royal Festival Hall, 13 March 2026

“I’M not going to talk very much,” announced Theo Croker near the start of his Royal Festival Hall concert, before adding, with a chuckle, “Miles didn’t talk much.” Which is, of course, very true – in his later years you were lucky if the trumpeter even looked at the audience.

This gig was a double celebration – of Miles Davis’ centenary and of a collaboration between the Southbank and the venerable Montreux Jazz Festival, which came to town for the weekend. There was lots going on but – for me at least – Theo and Miles was the centrepiece.

The concert began with a beautifully full-toned Concert de Aranjuez for the Gil Evans-helmed masterwork Sketches of Spain. Miles used a flugel in the opening on disc; Theo has a Monette trumpet, but no matter – that horn sings. It soon became clear that the pure-voiced singing was going to just part of its role here, as delay and reverb (he used a double microphone set up), scrunchy electronics and voice samples came to the fore as the Rodrigo segued into Croker’s own 4Knowledge.

This was no slavish reproduction of Miles’ music, but a Theo Croker “mixtape”, with all the experimentation that suggests from a man who is one of the best and most forward-facing of the current crop of trumpeters. He included a good number of his own compositions in the mix – notably Amen Waters (where his playing reminded me of that other Miles admirer, Mark Isham) and 64 Joints, which is from his last album Dream Manifest. And they fitted perfectly.

So, those hoping for Kind of Blue played in its entirety were destined to be disappointed, but we did get some exhilarating deep cuts. Very deep, one of them being Yaphet from the underrated Big Fun album from 1974, a pulsing track which could have acted as a blueprint for the whole gig.

The band were on top form as it essayed the changes in tempo, atmosphere and harmony while Croker manipulated the sound in real time. Eric Wheeler was a powerhouse on bass, young drummer Koleby Royston subtle and far from overwhelmed by the demands of the ever shifting soundscape and Tyler Bullock was on keys.

Although the latter also played synths, he also gave us some welcome, energetic passages on acoustic piano that offered us a definite human touch amid the electronic processing.

But it was special guest Gary Bartz who often took the limelight and ran with it.

Looking like he had based his hairstyle on Doc from Back to the Future, the 85-year-old began his contribution a little tentatively. I was a little concerned, as I have seen my fair share of jazz vets who treated live appearances as a lap of valedictory honour and often no longer had the chop for a full-blown concert experience.

Gary Bartz [Pete Woodhead]

Not so Gary, who played with Miles in the early Seventies (see Live-Evil) and led a pioneering fusion band called Ntu Troop (you’ll probably know Celestial Blues), and who showed here that he had the power and energy of a player half his age.

Guest singer Ego Ella May also acquitted herself beautifully on two songs, including Croker’s Somethin’ which she sang on Croker’s album By the Way. I could have listened to more – but I guess I’ll have to catch one of her solo gigs.

The concert ended back on solid Miles ground with Wayne Shorter’s Water Babies and a tender, acoustic Round Midnight that raised a few hairs on my neck, before Croker had the last word with his Hero Stomp.

A couple of the 2,000-plus audience expressed disappointment to me over a post-gig drink (they’d seen me taking notes) at the Croker-to-Miles ratio and the treatment of the sound.

As someone who got on board with Miles at Bitches Brew, I liked the sound manipulation. After all, plenty of Miles’ music was heavily restructured in the studio by producer Teo Macero (look at the number of tape edits on the In a Silent Way album). I gave them my considered verdict on Theo’s mixtape: Miles would have loved it.

Emma-Jean Thackray [Lewis Vorn]

EMMA-JEAN THACKRAY “Dear Miles – A Love Letter”
Ronnie Scott’s, 20 March 2026

ANOTHER day, another sold out show, another slice of Mr Davis. Ronnie Scott’s in Soho saw the impressively versatile multi-instrumentalist, beat mistress and producer Emma-Jean Thackray paying her own homage to the master.

Unlike Theo, Leeds’ finest did speak to the audience, explaining that she came through a northern brass band tradition, where everyone everywhere played the piece of music memorably called Concerto de Orange Juice by Pete Postlethwaite in the film Brassed Off.

As a young teenager E-J T was on Limewire, which was mostly used for illegal file-sharing. She wanted to download a classic version of Rodrigo’s piece to practice along to. Instead, she got the one from Miles/Gil Evans Sketches of Spain and a new passion was born.

In fact, rather than being “Dear Miles – A Love Letter to Miles” as billed the evening was really Miles & Me, charting the ongoing relationship between the two trumpeters.

Although Electric Miles is closest to her heart, we were treated to tunes from many stages of Miles’ career, all processed through Emma-Jean’s magpie mind and broken beat sensibilities.

We had a tricksy, staccato Seven Steps to Heaven, a So What welded to a monstrous jazz-rock groove, the bass heavy superfunk of One and One from On the Corner and a short, marvellously chaotic free section that suggested Miles channelling Lester Bowie or Don Cherry.

But there were also moments of tenderness, notably from a Harmon mute and piano combo (kudos to Lyle Barton on keys for slipping in the Bill Evans’ shoes).

For the finale she said: “I had a dream about Miles. I dreamt he came up to me and whispered: I love jungle.”

You can imagine what followed – a machine-like explosion of urban rhythms that sounded like Miles hanging out in a hip East London jazz/vinyl joint. The jazz police would probably say “you’re under arrest” and certainly baulked at this collision of cultures, but it certainly fired some electric London club vibes through Ronnie’s.

Emma-Jean told us that the Guardian once described her as a “jazz chav”. Huh. “Jazz alchemist” more like.

Next chance to catch her (although not this show; she has her own stuff to do) is at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival over the May bank holiday. See: https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/emma-jean-thackray